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3 Digital Marketing Strategies Used By Top Consumer Brands That Achieve Low CPA & High ROI

As a mid-sized digital marketing agency, our team has experienced both the challenges and opportunities that arise from working with a wide range of companies. Regardless of how large these brands are, or what industries they are a part of, they all share a common goal: to garner the most qualified leads or sales at the lowest CPA (cost-per-acquisition). For any business to grow, that objective is essential.

I am going to share with you some strategic tactics our agency uses to achieve higher conversions at a lower rate. To help me demonstrate these effective marketing techniques, let’s first consider the following scenario:

A local toy store owner just launched their first ecommerce website. The owner is willing to spend $10,000 per month on digital marketing for a 6 month trial period to see if it works – and by ‘works’ I mean generate sales at a profitable rate. Which marketing strategies would be most effective to show a positive ROI to the toy store owner?

It’s About Time and Budget

The key component to keep in mind is that this marketing strategy should be focused on maximizing conversions and sales in a short period of time. In this fictional scenario, we’re talking about a business owner that is going to feel the weight of every dollar being spent, so we have to make it count.

For a small B2C endeavor seeking quick results on a limited trial budget, there are 3 marketing tactics I would suggest to generate the biggest bang for the buck:

1. Social Media Marketing: Instagram and Facebook

The growth of social media in the past few years has been astronomical—especially in terms of the advertising opportunities now available. On platforms like Facebook and Instagram for example, both of which are ideal for a B2C audience, the targeting options based on specific demographics are extensive. You can select to serve your ad to users based on location, interests, age, gender, profession, and other accounts they follow or engage with, along with many other segmentation options based on behavioral data. For a smaller business with a lesser budget than some of its competitors may have, this is a more cost-effective and engaging alternative than some paid media initiatives like PPC or banner display ads.

Facebook’s targeting options allow you to hone in on the “ideal” customer that you’d like to serve your ad to. You can select from specific calls-to-action (CTAs) depending on what you’re trying to drive users to do, including anything from buying a product, to showing them directions to your brick and mortar location. Ads appear in a user’s newsfeed alongside other organic content which helps to instill a subtle sense of trust.

As seen above, Handy, an on-demand cleaning service, is a great example of effective Facebook advertising. The brand serves users that meet their predefined demographic with a special offer for their services and encourages users to “book now” through their built-in CTA, driving traffic back to their dedicated landing page for this service. The ad itself fits in well with the typical Facebook user’s newsfeed and personalized messaging related to the NYC area builds an added sense of trust.

When it comes to Instagram, the platform itself is best suited for visually-engaging content. High-quality photos and compelling videos perform best, and with extensive targeting options, you can really tailor content based on user interests. Using this data to reach the right users at the right time with the right marketing will make it much easier to facilitate conversions and user engagement because of how relevant the material is to their individual needs. In terms of budget, the platform uses a cost-per-click (CPC) model, meaning you only spend on the ads that are actually clicked on by the customer.

In regards to the marketing scenario introduced above, I would recommend allocating roughly 2/3 of the budget on social media advertising to generate the highest amount of qualified traffic to the store’s ecommerce site at a relatively low cost. From there, I’d recommend spending the remaining budget on marketing channels that would generate return traffic—an essential component.

Before diving into the other two tactics I would suggest it’s important to understand why return traffic is so important. Why not spend the remaining budget on continuing to build brand awareness and new visits?

Simply put, the most expensive visitor to your site is a first time visitor, and most users do not convert upon their initial visit. In fact, in most industries, first time visitors convert into sales or leads at less than 3%, while a returning visitor converts at over a 10% rate on average. So getting visitors to come back is a worthwhile spend. Familiarity with your brand helps to instill trust in the user and in turn makes the customer feel much more comfortable as they commit to a purchase or engage with your brand in another way.

2. Retargeting Ads

If a user visits your site and leaves, it’s important to re-engage them with a targeted ad to stay top of mind while they’re consuming content somewhere else. Retargeting is an effective method to do that.

This type of advertising tactic allows you to almost “follow” your audience around as they go from website to website after visiting your own site. Whether through Google’s extensive list of retargeting options, or with a program like Ad Roll, targeting users already familiar with your company is quite simple and easy to track the results. Depending on budget and needs, you can retarget users in a variety of different ways, including via search engine or even serving past visitors with a display ad that highlights the product they looked at when they were on your site last. Putting your advertising spend towards retargeting ads is much more effective than a traditional banner ad because you’re targeting users that are already interested in something you offer.

Personally, I love implementing retargeting ads, especially through Google’s retargeting options, because you only get charged if the user clicks on the ad. So an impression, or the amount of times your ad is viewed, doesn’t cost you anything.

To highlight this type of initiative, let’s look at a company that effectively uses retargeting to show value.

Jet Blue is no stranger to strong branding and effective marketing techniques. In their retargeting ad below, the airline promotes inexpensive airfare to Florida with a unique and fun visual. For users that have been on the Jet Blue website contemplating booking a flight, seeing this ad as they consume content on a different site could be the final push they need to click the ad, go back to the site, and make their purchase.

As mentioned above, the importance of driving return traffic is indispensable. In order for users to convert, they need to be familiar with your brand, so getting them back to your website for a 2nd and 3rd visit is crucial to generating conversions. Retargeting ads make this incredibly feasible.

To go back to the toy store owner scenario and his marketing budget, I’ve already suggested that more than half of the entire budget be put towards social media marketing, which will drive new visits to the website. For the remainder of the budget, I’ve suggested allocating half of the remaining budget towards retargeting ads, and putting the other half towards another digital marketing tactic that drives repeat visits--email marketing.

3. Email Marketing

I know, I know…you’re probably rolling your eyes. The last thing people want is more newsletters. The average customer doesn’t want unwelcomed, unsolicited emails cluttering their inbox; however, typically users do welcome emails that offer something of unique value to their personal interest.

If a visitor comes to your site, chances are they are interested in what you offer. Even if they are not going to convert by making a purchase or inquiring about a service, you can still engage them by enticing them to sign up for emails. It’s critical that you send your list campaigns with distinct value—exclusive content, offers, or promotions—something that make it worthwhile from the perspective of the user. When you’re encouraging users to sign up for your emails, do not simply say “sign up” or users will avoid the form field like the plague. Instead highlight the value you’ll be providing them.

For example, if you run an ecommerce site, use compelling language that offers an inside glimpse at what subscribers could expect, such as “Receive Special Offers” or “Register for Exclusive Deals”. If you’re able to provide email recipients with content that is captivating and will be worthwhile, you’ll find it much easier to capture their interest, encourage them to visit your site again, and eventually lead them to a conversion.

Once you have captured the email addresses of your users, be sure to live up to what you promise your subscriber base, and do not send them information that they do not find useful, or they will opt out.

If you are a service provider, send recipients exclusive or insightful information on the latest trends or statistics in your industry. At our agency, we have over 100,000 subscribers to our blog because we share the latest trends in web design and digital marketing—topics that are incredibly relevant to our audience.

Content within newsletters should contain cohesive messaging and a clear value. In the example below, the popular children’s toy brand Melissa & Doug, sends users a unique “thank you” email after they’ve signed up to receive their promotions. The clean design with cohesive messaging that promotes the exclusivity of being part of their “family” offers customers a unique value with all the special savings they’ll be receiving.

When done right, email marketing can be incredibly effective at driving users back to your website to make a purchase. While ultimately, a true value proposition is what makes the most impact in generating sales from this digital marketing tactic, there are some other elements to keep in mind that tend to go hand in hand with a successful email campaign:

·High-quality imagery

·Concise messaging

·Clear call-to-action

·Mobile-friendly design

·Compelling subject line

·Appropriate frequency (no more than once a week, no less than once a month)

All of these functionalities are important to effectively engage your audience and encourage them to click through to your website.

To once again go back to the original example presented about a toy store owner driving sales online at a low cost with a short timeline, email marketing would be the final tactic I would recommend to focus on for quick results. Social media marketing would occupy most of the budget (roughly 2/3 of the spend) and be the main generator of new visits to the website, while email marketing, along with retargeting ads would split the remainder of the budget (approximately 1/3 of the total spend).

Tactics To Avoid As A Primary Effort for Immediate Results

Aside from offering recommendations about which strategies are going to provide the most value, I’d like to highlight a few strategies that I would not suggest as a primary marketing effort for this particular situation. Each of the marketing channels listed below can be incredibly beneficial to brands that implement them, however given the limited budget and timeline restrictions with the toy store owner and his ecommerce store, I think that the resources could be better spent on the strategies previously outlined above.

These 3 strategies that I would not recommend as a primary focus for a situation that calls for immediate results on a tight budget include:

●SEO (search engine optimization): You might be surprised to see this one at the top of this list. After all, having your web pages organically appear at the top of Google or Bing search is the ‘holy grail’ of digital marketing. So why is SEO the first marketing tactic to avoid (as a primary effort) for our scenario?

The answer is simple. SEO takes time. Our store owner has just launched his first ecommerce site. It will take far more than 6 months for his site to rank for the high volume keywords that will drive results. In addition, the effort required will be tremendous.

Getting your company’s web pages featured at the top of search engines is becoming increasingly difficult as those that are already at the top now guard their position and are proactive to maintain it. I’m not dismissing SEO as an effective marketing channel, I’m warning it takes a lot of effort and it takes months and months, perhaps over a year, before you see worthwhile results. This is a long term play and a worthy endeavor only if you have the budget and the patience.

●PPC (pay per click): A few years ago, PPC campaigns through Google AdWords would have been a must for this type of scenario. You could go after great keywords for about a dollar per click. However, as more competition has arisen, pricing has jumped quite significantly.

PPC is an essential part of an omni-channel campaign, and if you have the budget for it, it can generate solid results. However, if monetary resources are tight, and you want a low CPA in a short time span, I would not recommend PPC as a marketing channel, unless the your business is open to a “loss leader” tactic, which is when the business loses money on the first sale in order to generate a long term customer value.

●LinkedIn Ads: LinkedIn advertising holds a ton of potential for brands within the B2B space simply because of the nature of the platform and how professionals utilize it. However, for a lot of B2Cs, this isn’t where you’re going to find most of your audience engaging with your brand. Potential customers shopping for a toy aren’t likely to frequent this platform, so to spend marketing dollars there would not be as effective as other marketing efforts.

Key Takeaways from Expert Ecommerce Examples

The recommendations I have made are for a scenario in which results are needed quickly and at a low CPA. Social media advertising, retargeting ads, and email marketing, are all methods that can be successfully used by any sized company across any industry—and with any budget.

When used in tandem, these initiatives can help to drive initial visits to your site, and then help bring those same users back to your business for an eventual conversion. When executed correctly, these compelling and captivating initiatives are simple, cost-effective, and most importantly, results-driven.

When practicing any digital marketing initiative, you ultimately need to think about the unique needs of your target audience, and the objectives of your organization. Without a strategic approach that is tailored to specific users, your efforts will likely fall short. By following best practices and taking notice of the key elements that some of the more successful brands always include, such as the above examples, you can generate increased sales in a short period of time.